Pirates take home state weightlifting titleDOVER — The Pirates weightlifting team was busy picking out and sizing rings on Monday after winning the Class 4A state weight meet on April 25 in Alma. The Pirates sent the top-10 athletes in each weight division to the meet and collectively pulled and lifted 4,880 pounds in two events: bench press and power clean. The weightlifting program, which is an offseason program for the football team, began competition three years ago. “Our administr...

Mann to coach for AiredalettesRussellville Cyclones head basketball coach Codey Mann accepted an offer to be the Alma Airedalettes head basketball coach made Wednesday by the Alma School District. Mann said he met with officials and was offered the job on Wednesday and spent the weekend thinking it over and talking with his family before calling them to accept on Sunday. He told the Cyclones early Monday morning. “They handled it about as best they could,” Mann said. “I ke...

Sand Lizards soccer remains undefeatedDARDANELLE — The Sand Lizards soccer team has a secret — 12 games into the season and it hasn’t suffered a single loss, yet it has not won a game in front of their home crowd. With renovations to Keenan Field underway, the Sand Lizards were forced to play each and every game on the road — but they’ve found ways to emerge with a flawless record. Dardanelle head coach Bryan Hardaway doesn’t want to jinx it. “I don’t even like to talk about it,” ...

Lady Apaches trouble HectorPOTTSVILLE — The Lady Apaches defeated the Hector Lady Wildcats 9-2 in a nonconference match-up on Tuesday. Pottsville (20-3) established a 4-0 lead in the first inning after Aspen Campbell singled, stole second and scored on an RBI single by Skylar Campbell. Skylar took second on the throw home and scored on a single by Kaitlinn Bailey. Hannamarie Savage singled in Bailey before crossing the plate herself on another single by Haley Stanton. I...

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Lady Cyclones win fourth straightSILOAM SPRINGS — The Russellville Lady Cyclones softball team won its fourth straight game on Wednesday with a 12-9 victory over the Siloam Springs Lady Panthers. Since Monday, the Lady Cyclones (6-12, 4-7 7A/6A-Central Conference) have defeated Conway. Siloam Springs and swept Mount Saint Mary in a doubleheader. The wins put Russellville one step closer to a return to the Class 6A state playoffs. "Our bats have come to life behind several hom...

Lady Lizards celebrate Senior Night winDARDANELLE — The Lady Sand Lizards celebrated Senior Night with a 4-3 win over the Booneville Lady Bearcats on Tuesday at Merritt Park. "This was a great confidence booster for us going into the (4A-4) District Tournament," Lady Sand Lizards head coach Lyndsey Hill said. When Dardanelle entered the seventh inning down 3-2, Hill had a few words for her team. "I told them that this at-bat was the last chance they had to get their seniors a win o...

Cyclones topple Central 5-4LITTLE ROCK — The Russellville Cyclones baseball team edged out the Little Rock Central Tigers 5-4 on Monday. Russellville (7-10, 3-6 7A/6A-Central Conference) led 1-0 at the top of the third inning. Little Rock Central scored tied the game in the bottom and both teams added three in the fifth. With the game tied 4-4 going into the seventh inning, Garrett Freeman hit an RBI double to score Bryson George. Moyer struck out the final three batter...

Cyclones defeat Greenwood in PKsThe Russellville Cyclones defeated the Greenwood Bulldogs 3-2 in penalty kicks on Monday at Cyclone Stadium. The Cyclones (7-6, 2-4 7A/6A-Central Conference) trailed 1-0 at halftime, but tied the game with 13:45 left on a goal by Taylor Allen. Back-up keeper Chandler Webb came in to tend the net during penalty kicks. Webb only let one get past him. "We knew we had to have a win here to get a better seeding in the state tournament," Russellvill...

Clinton tops DardanelleCLINTON — The Dardanelle Sand Lizards fell 5-4 to the Clinton Yellow Jackets on Monday. Clinton got the go-ahead run in the bottom of the seventh inning. Dardanelle led 2-1 until the bottom of the fourth inning. The Yellowjackets plated two runners to go up 3-2, but the Sand Lizards answered with two in the top of the fifth to reclaim the lead. Clinton scored two runs in the bottom of the seventh to take the win. At bat, Easton Carter was 1-fo...

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Atkins dominates OzarkOZARK — The Atkins Lady Red Devils scored 12 runs in the first three innings of their 15-3 win over the Ozark Lady Hillbillies on Monday. A two-run single by Bailey Thomas and a three-run homer by Kendall Roberts during the first inning and an RBI-double by Alex Webb and a two-run double by Shelby Davis in the second inning supplied the early offense for Atkins (16-6, 7-1 3A-2 Conference). Roberts racked up three-RBIs on one hit for Atkins. Sy...

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Lady Apaches blank Heber SpringsPOTTSVILLE — The Pottsville Lady Apaches won their 19th game of the year with a 12-0 victory over the Heber Springs Lady Panthers. In the bottom of the second inning, Pottsville's Kira Harrell singled, moved to second on an error on a grounder by Haley Stanton. Jordan Wright tripled both home to give the Lady Apaches the only lead they'd need throughout the game. Aspen Campbell and Hailee Cain were both walked to load the bases, before Skylar ...

Lady Cyclones shock Conway 6-3CONWAY — The Russellville Lady Cyclones picked up their first 7A/6A-Central Conference win of the season with a 6-3 victory over the Conway Lady Wampus Cats on Monday. Senior pitcher Amanda Canada allowed 14 hits, three runs (two earned), walked one and struck out two. Conway stranded eight runners. The Lady Wampus Cats took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first. Conway and University of Arkansas commit Morgan Felts singled. From there, the La...

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Lamar breaks Atkins' conference streakLAMAR — The Atkins Lady Red Devils suffered their first 3A-2 Conference loss at the hands of the Lamar Lady Warriors on Thursday. Lamar added a run in the third and fifth inning to claim a 2-0 victory over the Lady Red Devils. Atkins stranded 12 runners across seven innings. "We just couldn't punch anything in," Lady Red Devils head coach Tracey Brown said. Alex Webb both hit and pitched well for Atkins, but it wasn't quite enough. Webb led th...

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CASA to hold 'Light the Night' glow runCASA of the 5th Judicial District wants to shine a light on child abuse and "Light the Night" with a glow run at 8:30 p.m. on May 22 at the Russellville Train Depot. Runners will congregate at the depot in luminescent bracelets, clothing, headgear and just about anything else one can imagine for a 5k that will run from the depot into Arkansas Tech University and back. "Originally, we wanted to do something for Child Abuse Awareness month, whic...

Lady Cyclones make strides against GreenwoodRussellville head softball coach Harley Sisson described this season as the "exact opposite" of how his team expected it to go. Before the first pitch was ever thrown there were two words on the mouth of every Lady Cyclones player and coach: "State Championship." Russellville wanted to be back where it was the past three seasons — in the mix for a state title. The Lady Cyclones won the Class 6A state title in 2013, were runners-up in 2012 and ...

Dardanelle powers past SubiacoSUBIACO — The Dardanelle Sand Lizards beat Subiaco Academy 8-2 in seven innings on Thursday after a five-run explosion in the second inning. Dardanelle scored in the second inning on an RBI double by Dusty Reynolds, an RBI double by Kristian Thompson, an RBI double by Parker Witt, an RBI single by Easton Carter and an RBI triple by Jared Dawson. The Sand Lizards went up seven runs after two innings and added their final run in the top of the f...

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Lady Lizards, Pottsville in three-way tie for 4A-4 titleCLINTON — The Dardanelle Lady Sand Lizards had one bad inning against the Clinton Lady Yellowjackets — and it was enough to leave with a 6-2 loss on Thursday. Dardanelle gave up six runs in the second inning, but held the Yellowjackets scoreless throughout the remainder of the game. They just weren't quite able to dig out of the second-inning hole. "We got two outs in the second inning," Lady Sand Lizards head coach Lyndsey Hill said. "Then we...

Wiedower accepts position at UALRRussellville head basketball coach Steve Wiedower told his players after practice the truth — he had recently accepted an assistant coaching position at the University of Arkansas Little Rock (UALR) under Joe Foley. "There was a lot of sadness," Wiedower admitted. "A lot of tears in that dressing room. You hate to see that, but I think they all understand that this is what is best for me and for my family. Russellville will find them a good co...

Dawson assembles coaching staffAfter the Russellville School Board hired Chad Harbison as an assistant football coach during Tuesday's meeting, first-year Cyclones head coach Billy Dawson had all the pieces in place to build his ideal coaching staff. Harbison, who was the head coach for the Harrison Golden Goblins in 2014, has coached at Rogers Heritage, Rogers and Siloam Springs. Harbison, along with J.D. Plumlee, makes the second Harrison coach to join the Cyclones footba...